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Yaws - A Disease Forgotten But Not Gone

Labeled as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization (WHO), Yaws is a disease that affects the cartilage, skin and bones of the body. The tropical humid areas of Central and South America, Asia and Africa all have incidences of this disease, mainly concentrated in poverty-stricken rural communities and villages.

The bacteria that causes Yaws is called treponema pertenue which is related to treponema palllidum which is the bacteria that causes the veneral form syphilis. Up to 80% of the people afflicted with Yaws are children 15 years of age and younger and it occurs equally between females and males without ethnic distinction.

Transmission of the disease Yaws is through the direct contact with an infected person's skin which may have open lesions. It can also be contracted through contaminated food and water which is the most likely scenario as overcrowding and poor sanitation perpetuates the disease causing bacteria.

Symptoms of Yaws begin with a lesion or papule on the skin where the bacteria entered the body, typically between two to four weeks after initial infection. This initial lesion is in the early Yaws period and even after treatment, the area could still be teeming with the bacteria for up to six months. Therefore, any lesion or papule areas should be covered up to prevent the spread of the disease.

Without treatment, Yaws can progress into skin lesions all over the body in addition to bone lesions and bone pain. Late stages of Yaws may not appear until up to five years after initial infection. Some symptoms of late Yaws re hyperkeratosis of the hands and feet and debilitating and disfiguring problems with the cartilage of the nose and bones. Early stages of the disease with the lesions are quite infectious while the late stages of Yaws are not.

Treatment is quite easy for Yaws, as long as it is caught early enough to avoid disfigurement. Benzathine penicillin is the most successful antibiotic for treating Yaws and is most effective as an injection. This antibiotic usually cures Yaws with few cases of relapse. Patients allergic to penicillin could be administered doxycycline, tetracycline or even erythromycin.

The neglected tropical disease label Yaws was given from WHO is because of the few cases reported each year in comparison to the more prevalent diseases like malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever. While no global concerted efforts have been launched to combat Yaws, the WHO does have programs in these areas in place to help identify and treat cases of the disease. This disease could be effectively eradicated with proper healthcare and training. However, due to poverty conditions and lack of sanitation in rural communities, there will likely always be a chance of infection.

No vaccination exists for this all but forgotten tropical disease. Thankfully it is easily treated with simple antibiotics when diagnosed early. The best bet is to bypass the rural areas with lack of sanitation to avoid possible exposure to the disease or at the very least, take proper precautions.